1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for playing a game of chance, and more particularly, toward a method for playing a roulette style game in which the role of temporary Banker is randomly offered so that each player has an opportunity to assume the role of temporary Banker.
2. Related Art
The game of roulette is a well established game where the house banks the outcome of a ball dropping into a permanent labeled receiving area on a roulette wheel. There have been other formats of the game designed to use cards in place of the roulette wheel to generate the outcome of the decision point. The use of a house bank has always been a part in all these methods of play.
Some jurisdictions place restrictions on house-banked games of chance. As a result, it is sometimes desirable to alter or adjust the method of game play to provide individual players an opportunity to serve in the role of temporary Banker rather than the house. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,536 to Flasch describes a blackjack card game in which each player is offered the role of Banker. The Banker collects wagers and settles wagers according to traditional blackjack payoff rules. A vigorish is paid to the house. The Dealer offers each player the chance to be the Banker, starting from a player position adjacent to the Dealer. If this player declines the offer, the position is offered to the next player clockwise consecutively down the line along the table. To accept the role of Banker, the player must be able to cover four times (4×) the wagers of all the players. In a variation of the game, the Dealer or house may act as co-Banker, covering a portion of every payoff that the Banker is required to make.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,831 to Gonen et al. discloses a method for playing casino games (including Roulette) in which players are assigned the role of Banker in order to participate in the more preferable odds traditionally enjoyed by the casino. The Banker role may be offered in a random or structured order to players that have a qualifying banker score. If a Banker lacks sufficient credit to cover the anticipated action, additional sums of money may be added through a credit step so that the player can continue to act in the role of Banker. Otherwise, when the Banker's credit falls below the qualifying level, the player serving as Banker is replaced.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,444 to Nguyen discloses a method of playing a card game among eight players together with a Dealer where the role of Banker is rotated from one player to the next. Each player may serve as Banker for two games and then passes the responsibility to the next adjacent player. U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,259 to Weingardt discloses a method for playing pari-mutuel casino games including roulette. The method describes a fairly sophisticated pooling concept so that all wagering action can be covered by players in the context of a pari-mutuel arrangement.
Accordingly, while the prior art has proposed various game-playing methods in which players may be offered the role of temporary Banker, these methods fail to account for the fact that a player may wish to assume the role of temporary Banker but not wish to put at risk an amount of money which is sufficient to cover all of the wager action. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a revised method for playing a game of chance in which a player is given the opportunity to serve in the role of temporary Banker without putting at risk an amount of money sufficient to cover all wager actions, and simultaneously allowing all wagers to be settled in manner which fully satisfies all players. Furthermore, there is a need in the art to provide for opportunities for players which are not serving in the role of temporary Banker to also put money at risk and thereby bank behind monies posted by the temporary Banker to cover wagering action.